Mamak, Chinatown

Cheap, delicious and BYO, Mamak is my kind of place. It is deservedly popular, and arriving at 6.30pm on a Friday means an hour-long wait. Not always practical but worth it when you need a good Malaysian roti fix!

Moroccan lamb mince, egg and feta ‘breakfast’ tagine

There are few things more delicious than the fragrance of simmering lamb and cinnamon. This breakfast tagine, inspired by the amazeballs one at Kazbah in Balmain (also in Darling Harbour and Top Ryde), makes breakfast worth getting out of bed for.

Cereal? Pah! Toast? Pish! 

Minh Vietnamese, Dulwich Hill

Minh is our local Vietnamese joint. It’s closer than (but not quite as good as) the Viet places in Marrickville and makes for a decent low-key meal. Plus, they are licensed and BYO and serve a decent glass of house wine as well as a few old favourites by the bottle such as Oyster Bay sav blanc.

Lamb shanks braised with pomegranate, balsamic, tomato and bay

I got some lovely lamb shanks at the Addison Road Markets today and was feeling indecisive about how to flavour them. Preserved lemon? Red wine and bay leaves? Lemongrass and star anise?

Cornersmith, Marrickville

I recently said that Enmore is the new Newtown. It turns out, I was wrong… Marrickville is!

Relatively new to Marrickville is Cornersmith, which epitomises all the lovely aspects of the inner west cafe culture. They make their own sauces, cordial, jams, pickles, conserves, etc. using local produce sourced from friends and the general public. And honey from their own bees!

Delicious little baby manoush (Lebanese pizzas) with lamb or shangleesh

Oh! Manoush, how I love thee! With all due respect to l’Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, these babies are the best pizzas this outside of the Mediterranean. On a cold morning at my local Al Cheik Bakery in Lakemba, it’s always a hard task to decide between the fragrant manoush lahem pizza or the salty, creamy goodness of shangleesh* cheese encased in soft, sweet dough.

Hideaway, Dulwich Hill

I love a good, local, family-run restaurant, and Hideaway is a perfect example.

They call the cuisine ‘international tapas’, a variety of dishes offered in two sizes (tapas/main) and designed to share. It’s a great way to eat and suited our group of four beautifully: we simply ordered a tapas size of (almost) every dish! I always think tapas-style is a great idea for a simple/family-run restaurant, as dishes come out in any order and there’s no waiting for everyone else’s to arrive.

Lamb, saffron and pumpkin tagine

So I haven’t posted for a while – life has been getting busier! As a result I suspect this year’s blogs will mostly be home delivered food and/or familiar homecooked favourites, including my ultimate all-time favourite food ‘mut jup mun gai yik’ (honey soy chicken wings) and my mum’s osso buco recipes, as requested!

Moussagne

Sometimes when I go grocery shopping I get very confused. I have too many ideas for things I’d like to cook, and after a long day of teaching I often lack the mental capacity to decide on just one. Tonight I managed to get all the ingredients to make either moussaka or lasagne… But how to decide which one?

Zenobia Lebanese Restaurant, Leichhardt

Zenobia is a Lebanese restaurant set in a lovely sandstone house on Norton St. The other night my dad, brother and I popped in on the spur of the moment and happily found a table free for us.